The UAE’s National Center of Meteorology (NCM), through the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), has recently opened the Program’s 5th Cycle for submissions of innovative research proposals with a focus on two high-priority areas: enhancing cloud formation and rain enhancement.
The awardees will receive a grant of up to US$1.5 million (AED5.511 million), distributed over three years, with a maximum annual amount of $550K for each winning research proposal.
Registration of proposals is open till March 9, 2023, and pre-proposals should be submitted by March 16, 2023. Those invited to submit full proposals will be notified on May 26, 2023 and will be asked to send their full proposals by August 24, 2023.
The winning projects will be selected by a rigorous, two-stage merit review process and the awardees will be announced in January 2024.
His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Al Mandous, Director General of NCM and President of the Regional Association II (Asia) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said: “In response to the growing challenges of climate change and water scarcity, the world needs to adopt a novel and science-based approach to find viable solutions to today’s complex water resource problems.”
Alya Al Mazroui, Director of UAEREP, said: “Building on the success the program has made over its first four cycles, the areas focused by the Fifth Cycle will add new dimensions to our understanding of cloud formation, a topic that has gained increasing interest from the scientific community in the past cycle. Researchers, scientists, and innovators in the weather modification field from around the globe are encouraged to submit their pre-proposals and join this international initiative to improve water security worldwide.”
Earlier, the program unveiled its solicitation document that outlines its targeted research areas along with important information on the application and evaluation process and the timeline. The document can be accessed and downloaded from the UAEREP website.
Useful links:
